Shokanbetsu Teuri Yagishiri Quasi-National Park

Shokanbetsu Teuri Yagishiri Quasi-National Park (暑寒別天売焼尻国定公園) is a quasi-national park between Ishikari city, Shin-totsukawa town, Uryu town, Hokuryu town and Haboro town in the northern part of Hokkaido along the Sea of Japan (日本海), and extends from the north to the south, and has been designated as the quasi-national park since 1990. The area is 43,559 ha, and the the quasi-national park has the 8th largest area in 57 quasi-national parks (not include national parks) in Japan. It consists of 2 isolated islands, Shokanbetsu Mountain Range (暑寒別山系) and a coast, and beautiful nature such as the sea, the mountains, sea birds, trees, wild flowers and wetlands is highlight. The Shokanbetsu Teuri Yagishiri Quasi-National Park is divided into 4 areas, Teuri Island (天売島), Yagishiri Island (焼尻島), SHokanbetsu Area (暑寒別エリア) and Atsuta and Hamamasu Area (厚田・浜益エリア), and the Teuri Island, the Yagishiri Island and the SHokanbetsu Area mainly have a lot of highlights.

The Teuri Island is well-known as an island for the sea birds, and the Yagishiri Island is famous for sheep and Onko trees. Points worthy of note are beautiful sceneries of the remote islands' own. The SHokanbetsu Area has Mt. Shokanbetsudake (暑寒別岳), Mt. Gunbetsudake (群別岳), Mt. Hamamasudake (浜益岳), Mt. Ofuyu (雄冬山), Mt. Minami-shokanbetsudake (南暑寒岳) and the Uryunuma-shitsugen Wetland (雨竜沼湿原), and a point worthy of note is hiking. As for the Atsuta and Hamamasu Area, it is said that cliffs such as Amoi Cave (アモイの洞門) is highlight.

Teuri Island

Teuri Island that about 300 people live is a small island, and the circumference of the island is about 12 km. The Teuri means "Fish's intestine" or "A footprint" in Ainu language. About 7,000 tourists come to the island. Speaking of the Teuri Island, it is famous as a paradise for the sea birds, and 8 types of One million extinct sea birds such as Common Murre, Spectacled Guillemot, the Rhinoceros Auklet and Auk inhabit, so most of tourists attractions are related to the sea birds, and bird-watching in the southwestern island and the central part of the island and going a superb view trip in the southwestern island are main sightseeing. A part of roads in the island changes to the one way road from June to August, so toursits had better go a trip clockwise. Kusrosaki Coast (黒崎海岸), Akaiwa Obseravation Deck (赤岩展望台), Chidorigaura-enchi Park (千鳥ヶ浦園地) and Kannonzaki Observation Deck (観音崎展望台) are famous as tourist attractions. Teuri Ferry Port is built in the northern part of the island, and most of local people live between the northern part and the eastern part. There are accommodations such as ryokan between the northern part and the eastern part, too.Sightseeing Map of PDF in Japanese

In addition, Umi-no-Uchukan (海の宇宙館), Teuri Hometown Museum (天売ふる里館), Teuri Island Park Golf Course, Forest of Wild Brids (野鳥の森), Teuri Island Camping Ground (天売島キャンプ場) are also in the island. By the way, 3 restaurants, Sumibi Kaisen Banya (炭火海鮮番屋), Meshidokoro Kaiyumaru (めし処 漁師の店 海友丸) and B Port (Ｂポート), and a cafe, remincarnation, open a business for a limited season, and 9 accommodations are built in the island. The Teuri Island is more large-scale than the Yagishiri Isalnd. Unfortunately, hot springs do not gush out in the island. Haboro Onsen Sunset Plaza (はぼろ温泉サンセットプラザ) has onsen in Haboro town, Hokkaido mainland, so tourists can enjoy the onsen, too. The Teuri has some events. Teuri Sea Urchin Festival (天売ウニまつり) is held between 2days in late July, and Treasure Island "Treasure Legend of Brother Islands" (宝島「兄弟島の財宝伝説」) is held from mid July to late August.

A sightseeing reachs its peak from July to August. The breeding season for the sea birds is from May to July, and it may be said that those seasons are suitable for the sightseeing most. Means of transportation to the Teuri Island are a ferry and a high‐speed craft. Those services run between Teuri Port and Haboro Port or Yagishiri Port. There are some means of transportation for the island tourism, for example, a guided tour, a rental car, a rental motor scooter and a rental bicycle. I went around the Teuri Island by the rental motor scooter, and it was very comfortable. Walkers can go around for about 3 hours on foot.

List of Nature and Tourist Attractions

The Kurosaki Coast, the Akaiwa Observation Deck, the Chidorigaura-enchi Park are in the southwestern part of the island, and the Kannonzaki-enchi Park and the Forest of Wild Birds are in the cetral part of the island. The sea birds can be observed from the sea side, and the wild birds can be watched from the land side, so the island is a paradise for birds. The Umi-no-Uchukan and the Teuri Hometown Museum are in the eastern part of the island, and Teurito Lighthouse (天売島灯台) is in the northern part of the island. The lighhouse is not a tourist attraction, but I like a path to the lighthouse. I think that it is worth seeing.

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Path to Teurito LighthouseTeurito LighthouseForest of Wild Bird

Akaiwa Observation Deck

Akaiwa-enchi Park (赤岩園地) is a lookout point in the southernmost part of Teuri Island (天売島), and is famous for the blue sea and an observation deck jutting out the sea, and is also well-known as breeding grounds of Rhinoceros Auklet and Common Murre. About 800,000 Rhinoceros Auklets have digged myriads of holes around Akaiwa Lighthouse (赤岩灯台) at about 130 m elevation. It is said that it is one of the largest Rhinoceros Auklet's breeding grounds in the world. The scenery is very strange, and I think that visitors get a mysterious impression. Their breeding reachs its peak from May to Junly, and Night Guided Tour for the Rhinoceros Auklets Coming Back to Their Nests (ウトウ帰巣ナイトガイド) is held to observe sea birds in the early evening, too. Akaiwa Observation Deck (赤岩展望台), a visitor route, a parking lot and a public restroom are built at the site. Admission free. The parking lot is free of charge. Article is here

Akaiwa Observation Deck

Chidorigaura-enchi Park

Chidorigaura-enchi Park (千鳥ヶ浦園地) is a lookout point in the southwestern part of Teuri Island (天売島), and is near the highest place in the island. People and wild animals are hard to get close the sea side of precipitous cliffs, so sea birds such as Common Murre and Cepphus Carbo make a nest there. Seabird Observation Hut (海鳥観察舎) is built to observe the sea birds on a cilff of about 150 m elevation. Visitors can enjoy good views as well as the sea birds, too. This place is not famous, but I think that here is a good tourist attraction moved by superb views. A free parking lot is built at the site. Admission free. The parking lot is free of charge. Article is here

Seabird Observation Hut and Great View

Kannonzaki-enchi Park

Kannonzaki-enchi Park (観音崎園地) is a lookout point in the west coast of Teuri Island (天売島). Kannonzaki Observation Deck (観音崎展望台) is built on a cliff of about 140 m elevation, and the sea of Japan, precipitous cliffs and Teurito Lighthouse (天売島灯台) can be viewed. It is said that the sunset looks beautiful from here, and here is also famous for seeing black‐tailed gulls coming back to their nests in the early evening. When I went here in the daytime, unfortunately the black-tailed gull did not fly, so I looked over just the splendid scenery. A free parking lot is bult at the site. Admission free. The parking lot is free of charge. Article is here

Cape Kannonzaki

Kurosaki Coast

Kurosaki Coast (黒崎海岸) is in the southern part of the island. Visitors can observe a state that Japanese cormorants (海鵜) have some rest on the reef. Please beware of a viper because the viper (マムシ) inhabits grass. By the way, there is not facility besides a parking lot.

Tasty Foods

The Teuri is surrounded by the sea, so seafood is tasty, after all. A local speciality of the island is a sea urchin in particular. A lot of sea urchins grow surely on quays of the port. Such the live sea urchins can be eaten at a souvenir shop beside the Teuri Ferry Terminal.

Sea Urchins Grow on Quay

Sea Urchin

Sea urchins for souvenirs are sold, and the live sea urchins can be eaten at the souvenir shop beside the ferry port. As for prices, an extra large sea urchin is JPY 500, and a large sea urchin is JPY 300, and a regular sea urchin is JPY 200. I bought the large sea urchin and the regular sea urchin. Edible parts of the sea urchin are orange ovaries and testicles. It was difficult to eat only the orange parts because around the ovaries and testicles had sands, but my mouth was full of the taste of the sea.

Appearance of Souvenir ShopShop Staff Choose Sea UrchinsLeft Is Middle Size. Right Is Large Size.Sea Urchin with ShellFresh Sea Urchin

Movie of Sea Urchin

Teuri, Haboro Town, Tomamae District

List of Events

In the Teuri Island, the Sea Urchin Festival is the largest event.

Movie of Sea Urchin Festival

List of Activities

Refer to following websites for the activity companies in the Teuri. You can get information regarding online reviews and photos.

Blog Writer:good! hokkaido!

I am from Nayoro, and used to live in Kushiro and Sapporo, and have been back Hokkaido after I lived in Kanagawa prefecture for 14 years again. Around 50-year-Japanese old boy mainly have released articles that I found nature, tourist attractions, onsen and foods in the Hokkaido to the non-Hokkaido people. I am bad English, so I apologize if you do not understand the meaning. Using photos are my photos, free images, various tourism associations’ photos and photos cited from official websites and so on. Reproduction of my photos and texts from within this site is prohibited.As for my photos, I used to provide those for profit, but I stop providing the photos now. Most of youtube movies belong to others, and I just share those on my blog.